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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Child Labor

Anyone who knows me knows that I love the kids. No matter how talkative, cooperative, old, or young, I love them! I also have a huge passion in helping others who may or may not necessarily know how to help themselves.

I was scanning the headlines off CNN and came across an article about human trafficking. I've been following some of the stories for a while now. It's a huge issue that's touched every country and person either directly/indirectly. It doesn't always have to involve forced prostitution as commonly believed. Fishermen forced to work on a ship to catch fish for our dinner tables, kids working in cotton fields to pay off family debts, etc. are a couple examples.

Off of this article were some links to sites for more info on the subject and ways you can get involved. One link talked about products that Americans use daily that have a big chance of being a product of child laborers. I was curious to know what these goods were and gold happened to be one item. This is what a child laborer had to say:

"If I have one wish, it's that I might someday have a little bit of money." says Saliou, a child worker in one of Mali's informal gold mines. "Sometimes I dream that one day I'll own something made of gold."

I couldn't move on from this. This statement really caught my attention. It really puts things into perspective when you read this, and to know it's coming from a child. I think gold is something that many of us take for granted. Their wish could be anything in the whole world, but it's for a little money, and for something gold! Just sit and think how many things you've owned that have even the tiniest amount of gold, or even how old you were when you received something made of gold. Kinda makes you stop, think, and reevaluate things a bit huh.